Tramon Williams tries to steal 'Optimus Prime' nickname, Sherman says no

Calvin Johnson is known as Megatron. So, if you're a brash, young cornerback looking to shut him down, it makes total sense to call yourself "Optimus Prime." That's what Seahawks star cornerback Richard Sherman did when he and Seattle squared off against Mega and Detroit.

But now Packers cornerback Tramon Williams is trying to hijack the nickname.

"I'm definitely Optimus Prime," Williams told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "I'm the leader of the Autobots. I'm the leader of the young guys right now. And when it comes down to the tough battles, I'll lead those guys out there."

Um, not to be a jerk, but you can't just hijack someone's nickname, T-Bone. Even if you think that the guy who coined it [Sherman] got "pushed around."

"Guys like Brandon Browner and Richard Sherman -- they talk about how physical they are -- but Calvin was pushing those guys around the field like it was nothing," Williams said. "And those are some big guys. You definitely have to be careful with how you play a big guy like that."

Maybe Williams was watching the wrong Lions receiver, because Johnson did a whole lot of nothing against the Seahawks. He was targeted eight times, caught three balls and accounted for just 46 yards against Seattle. (Titus Young, on the other hand, went off for 100 yards and two touchdowns.)

Sherman realizes this, and told NFL AM on Thursday that he think Williams is full of it.

"Yeah, we were pushed around to the tune of 46 yards, I believe," Sherman said. "Not too much pushing. I don't understand that shot; he took a shot at us. Last I checked, we've never given up 250 yards to anybody. We barely give that up in a game. To give that up to one player, I mean that was the last time they played him, I believe. I don't really know if he'd be the one [to] come talk to us about playing coverage."

Sherman is correct about what the Seahawks give up in terms of yardage. In fact, they give up less than 200 yards a game. Green Bay, on the other hand, gives up 243 yards a game through the air.

And that 250 number that Sherman mentioned? That was on New Year's Day 2012 last season, when Megatron caught 11 balls for 244 yards and a touchdown ... against the Packers.

Those are not Transformer-stopping numbers, and Williams is doing whatever the opposite is of killing to birds with one stone. Not only did he kind of make himself look foolish when it comes to shutting down the Lions and trying to steal someone's nickname, he also just handed the best wide receiver in the NFL a little chalkboard material for Sunday.

For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnNFL on Twitter, subscribe to our RSS Feed watch Pro Football 360 daily at 3 p.m. ET and NFL newsletter. You can follow Will Brinson on Twitter here: @willbrinson.